Pound Pup Legacy

If child migration and orphan trains weren't enough, profit through "proper parenting" got cloaked under a new scheme in the big business machine:  Maternity Homes.  After the lull of the Great Depression, business in baby-sales got booming during the hey-day of the Closed Era of Adoption.  This took place during the 1950's thru the mid 1970's.  It seems with war, first come the victimized,  grieving women, then comes a government's unwanted babies. [see Korean (1950-1953) and Vietnam (1959-1975) wars].   When men are taken away from their families, what happens to the vulnerable women with children?

http://maternity-home.adoption.com

"Adoption history indicates that social workers specialized in unwed motherhood. They felt that this would elevate their professional status. Viewing themselves as authorities in  adoption and unwed motherhood, they insinuated themselves into  maternity homes." Domestic Infant Adoption: Setting the  Record  Straight

What in heaven's name is a Maternity Home?

http://maternity-home.adoption.com/

Maternity homes are residences for pregnant women. The number of homes has decreased over the past two decades, and existing homes often have a waiting list of women. In the mid-1960s, there were about 300 maternity homes nationwide, many of which could serve large numbers of clients. By 1981, because of the decriminalization of abortion, availability of the birth control pill and other changes in society, there were only about 100, according to the Interagency Task Force on Adoption's report, America's Waiting Children.

Some organizations have recruited families who volunteer to house women in crisis pregnancies, but these are usually not licensed and are not included in the estimates.

The women who live in a maternity home usually pay no fee to live in the home and ... may be adults or adolescents. They may also be teenage foster children who are wards of the court, if the maternity home has a license for group foster care.

The services provided by a maternity home usually include counseling, aid in applying for public assistance programs such as Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), food stamps and Medicaid, nutritional advice and encouragement and assistance in continuing education or identifying career opportunities.

Most maternity homes utilize volunteers who will drive women to the physician, supermarket, welfare office and other sites where she must go.

[Many] organizations support the voucher system concept whereby women with crisis pregnancies can choose the appropriate shelter for themselves and pay for services with the vouchers. California has had such a plan in place for more than 20 years, the Pregnancy Freedom of Choice Act. At the federal level, similar plans have been proposed.

Has the narrow-minded thinking of yester-year gone by, as a Closed Era birthed it's way to Open practice?  Has evil-shame been removed from an unmarried mother's name, and are bastard babies finally socially accepted?  Is each expectant mother told of all her options, and provided the best attention with the best intentions, so she and baby need not worry about provision and care?  Has child migration ended, have all orphan trains been stopped, and have Maternity Homes grown to be nothing more than black and white pictures of our past?  It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same, as the names and dates may well have been changed, the profiting from others still remains the same.  How much has been learned from the Closed Era of Adoption?  All a mother has to do is insert two names, (Maternity Homes), and a shame in social-service and practice can be seen once again.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/06/21/sent-away-a-new-look-at-maternity-group-homes-today

Maternity group homes vary widely in terms of admission criteria. Most publicly-funded programs serve teenagers and homeless women. Many private religious maternity homes exclusively serve adults. Some programs explicitly state that they do not cater to women who are fleeing domestic violence or struggling with substance abuse.

It is not uncommon for residents to have to commit in writing to carry their pregnancies to term.

The old adoption model isn't dead yet. Some homes are arms of adoption agencies. Some facilities explicitly offer accommodations with the understanding that residents will give their babies up for adoption.

One program sums up its attitude on its website:

While no one is coerced or pressured to make an adoption plan for their baby, this is a home for women who are making that choice. Respect for this choice is expected and if you decide a parenting plan is your best option, we will work with you to find alternate housing arrangements.
 
The darker side of private religious maternity group homes is aggressive proselytizing coupled with house rules that treat clients like inmates.

These women are not ill, and they are not criminals-indeed, many programs stipulate these criteria as conditions of admission. Yet, many programs appear to be founded on the premise that these women need intensive "treatment" and counseling simply because they are unwed mothers.

In exchange for help, young women may have to accept controversial theological teachings. One Ohio-based home tells prospective residents: "Abortion is wrong. Harbor House will do everything possible within the law to prevent abortion," and "Single-parenting does not fit God's perfect plan for the family."